LIBERALISM

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 54, 27 November 1919, Page 3

LIBERALISM

ITS ASPIRATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS. (Published by Arrangement.) '■".(No. i.) '... The Workers' Share, In tho old days what happened when a workman was brought home on n stretcher? What happened when h<? got maimed? Then: was mlre.-s at Common Law, slow, difficult, with much uncertainty and drawn-out litigation. To-day redress is certain, immediate, substantial, and cheap. The Workers' Compensation system is not yet peiiect, bhr tho Liberals, who initiated it a generation ago, can be trusted to bring it up to the level of modern requirements, in accordance with tin; beit principles of progressive democracy. It is impossible to review in full detail the long list of multifarious acts by which the Scddon Ministry strove tit carry into effect its declared policy of securing the welfare ,pf the majority, in preference to defending and fostering the interests and privlcgns oi' the favoured few. But what is most remnrkable about these measures is that while they arc based upon ideal conceptions that in those days seemed hopelessly visionary and Utopian, they were all severely practical in character, and when these laws were enforced they proved a great practical success. Third Phase-Ward. S'ir Joseph Ward, on the death of his illustrious chief, stepped into the leadership of the. Liberal Party and carried on the Liberal tradition. For this work the new chief was eminently qualified. Ho had served through tho previous phases of the Liberal campaign of advanco with marked ability, and for tho most part in positions of considerable responsibility. His success in assisting his chiefs to carry out their election promises in regard to financial reforms had brought him in due course to the Treasury, and here he quickly distinguished himself by his aptitude, his energy, his combination of. courage and prudence, and his close familiarity with detail. Sir Joseph's administration of fiauance had been as successful as his management of the great Department of the Post Office, In his.conduct of tho latter he had obtained, by his handling of. affairs postal and 'telegraphic,' a. distinctly European reputation. He had to his credit another success in the administration of the Railway Department To this he had, as he had to the Postal and Telegraphic Department, given classification and a superannuation system. Another suews , :-. of his had been the Advances to Settlers .system. The system includes a vast amount of detail s the administration involves the most constant care and the closest supervision. But its success is as remarkable as tli« variety of its requirements. Aggregate of advances the other day 21 millions, profit J;ljßs,flCol No comment is needed—but it. is.indeed a record, of which any-financier in Iho world might bo proud! A. Record of Success, With this history behind,him, tho new chief was soon engrossed in his work,' and in; the five years of its duration tho record'of it was good. To the first part belong such mensures as tho "Scaffolding Inspection Act," which added to the safety of many workers; the "Training Ships Act," which.opened for boys the road to the sea; an amending measure which improved th« system of Telegraph classification for the wholeCivil Service; amendments of the Iftwa helping maternity and protecting childlife.; Acts for improving the acquisition and settlement of land; the Act which secured the remainder of tho Crown lands—nine million acres—us a national endowment; the development of direct taxation—income and land—on the graduated sys.tem, on well-marked iinus capable of indefinite extension when necessary. ; - A.leading- ,)la<:e in the list is held by the National Endowment Fund. Tho Act of that name greatly extends the area of stability fur oid age and dependence, and it hns been since amended in 'many ways, all' beneficial lo tht> poorer classes of the people and all valuable in the Iron' lous times that came upon us witfi th var. National Debt. 'Another of Sir Joseph Ward's characteristic measures was the proposal for tlio final extinction in reasonable time of the National Debt. At that linio the stream of borrowing rail on without thought of the dny-of reckoning. But Sir' Joseph saw the weakness of such a system; he proceeded to adjust his finances by tlie aid of a Sinking Fund in sucli a way that any loan so treated would be liquidated in 75 years at a very small cost per year lo the Consolidated Fund. Fn the face of bitter opposition Sir Joseph stuck to his scheme, demonstrated its acriiria-1 soundness, tied up the sinking funds beyond the power of any' human being to "collar." He prevailed over all opposition, established liis uvetern, and that system has worked admirably ever since. Hydro-Electric Power. Another striking incident in this campaign of progress was tile Hydro-electrio scheme instituted by the Liberal Government during Sir Joseph Ward's regime. Sooner or Infer our water power is suro to bo utilised on a vast scale for indnsJrir.il and domestic purposes, for illumination and for transport. Hut tho people of the Dominion should not forget that here, as in so many other directions where progress pom's'towards prosperity, Liberalism led the way. Humanism Onco More But thoiikh busied about the country's interests, Sir Joseph Ward did not forget the "humanist" side, of Liberalism, which is- well illustrated in his establishment of a system of Pensions for Widows. This recognition of the natural right of wives and mothers lo support has removed bore one glaring roproacli to human jiatuiv; anil the honour of makinj; ihi.s wise and generous provision for widows stands to the eternal credit of the Liberal Party and its leaders.